Widefield DSLR - 1st attempt

[Geuse]

Hi All, 

I hope this pic upload has worked.

So, i just had my very first shot at trying to do some widefield with my DSLR tonight and i was wondering if i could get some thoughts on what i am doing wrong/right. I have only ever used a DSLR 3/4 times so i am still very much getting used to it and i would really appreciate any pointers. Also, i have never really worked with lightroom and am hoping to have a bash tomorrow so any suggestions on what i should do in there would also help.

If anyone is feeling particularly bored, i would love someone to tidy them up and show me how the finished product should look so i can try to figure out how to emulate it.

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Langy]

Hmm, by the looks of things you have them locked in the gallery not letting anyone see them.

I don't know if there are any details in there too, but if not include exposure times, equipment etc.

[Geuse]

[Geuse]

That should hopefully be them uploaded now so that you can see them.

I was pretty much using a Canon 350d, 20s Shutter speed, ISO1600, f3.5. I did however use a lower shutter speed and dropped the ISO for the ones of orions belt, as you can see the moon was out and it was just destroying the image at those settings.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

[jambouk]

They look nice; on my phone the stars look sharp and round, so that is good.

What f/ is the lens? What focal length was this at, 20mm?

Ideally you want to shoot when there is no moon unless the moon is part of the subject.

You have so little light pollution, that is great and on your side.

Have you tried star trails?

There are lots of resources online about widefield dslr astrophotography. There is an entire book online electronically which was written before digital cameras became so popular but many of the techniques are still applicable. I'll try and find it.

For your images with no foreground, you could take multiple images and then stack them in DSS, and this may bring out some more detail / colour. This isn't so easy for images with a foreground as the foreground will become blurred out as the software rotates the images to keep the stars in the same place.

I need to check on a big pc monitor, but the images don't look grainy so maybe have a go at increasing the ISO?

But great start.

Jd

[jambouk]

Here is another thread on widefield, and in it i've linked to two books:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/208593-newbie-question-on-tracking-mountdslr/?fromsearch=1

The book by Reeves can be found in pdf format (legally) online if you hunt. There are many threads on SGL about dslr widefield, so have a search and check out other peoples results and techniques.

Here is a beginners guide to star trails i wrote, which i think you are beyond already, but it might help others :

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1673286/Star%20trails.pdf

Jd

[JonH]

 I think this is a very good first attempt so well done.  It's good that you've included a little foreground in the last pic, but it's not very interesting. Try including objects like trees, church steeples, chimney stacks, electrical pylons or basically anything that looks good in silhouette. To crank the creatively up another notch, have a go at painting the foreground with light from a torch during the exposure. A simple but very effective technique to put your own stamp on your photos. Here's one of mine that was 'painted' with a red torch: http://www.jonhicksphoto.co.uk/photo_10988608.html

Check out Stewart's (saturn5) wide-field posts on here: lot's of cool shots using foregrounds and painting with light to inspire you.

[happy-kat]

You did well with the moon out too. Bet that made exposure tricky.

Great idea Jon about using a torch on foreground objects and love your picture.